SDCC 07: Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Preview

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The cast and producers talk about the upcoming final season.

By Eric Goldman

Per usual at Comic-Con, the panel for Battlestar Galactica was received extremely warmly by the large crowd assembled. This year the cast members in attendance were all female - Mary McDonnell ("President Laura Roslin"), Katee Sackhoff ("Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace"), and Tricia Helfer ("Number Six") - and to mark the occasion the panel began with a special video clip reel paying homage to all the ladies on Battlestar, that also included an hysterical montage of scenes where the women on the show said "Frak."

The panel, which also included executive producers Ron Moore and David Eick, were asked how the recently announced end of the series had affected production on Season 4. McDonnell said that one way things had changed worked in conjunction with Comic-Con itself, saying "Events like this have become more lively!"

Moore said that he'd had the idea for how the show would end since near the end of Season 1, however he said there was still room for discussion regarding "The individual endings we give to the characters."

Sackhoff was again asked to discuss the ruse she took part in to make everyone, her fellow castmembers included, think she was being killed off last season. She laughed, recounting how her mother was on set when news spread about her death, and turned out to be a great actress herself, nodding and telling the cast members who expressed their sadness over Sackhoff leaving the show, "Oh, it's so sad!"

As we previously reported, the panel was also eventually joined by the surprise appearance of Lucy Lawless, who announced her return to the series for a two or three episode arc.

McDonnell was asked how she felt when Laura's cancer returned at the end of Season 3, and she said "A little ill. A little frightened I was going to get killed." Moore said that he initially had Laura "cured" because he felt that continuing the cancer story week to week, with Laura possibly in a hospital bed, wouldn't work. But he also said "In the back of my mind, I knew it was going to come back." McDonnell said that ultimately, she is happy with this twist in the story, adding "I never really liked that I was saved by the DNA of a Cylon."

Asked for some details on Season 4, Moore said "Lee Adama is taking an interesting journey&#Array; in a bizarre and strange direction." He also promised plenty of exploration on the newly revealed four hidden Cylons, and "The Cylon nation" in general. He also stressed that the upcoming Galactica TV-movie Razor would not resolve the Season 3 cliffhanger, though the Season 4 premiere would.

As for Razor, the producers reconfirmed how it tells several stories, mainly centering on the Battlestar Pegasus, in various time frames. Eick also confirmed "You're going to see the original Cylon Centurions and the original Cylon Raiders" from the 1970's Battlestar series, in sequences set during the original Cylon war.

A discussion of Gaius Baltar's ability to draw women in led to Helfer saying "Baltar's getting a lot of action this season, and I haven't been involved." When a fan said they wanted to see more interaction between William Adama and Kara Thrace, especially in light of her mysterious return at the end of Season 3, Moore said that the Season 4 premiere would make them "very happy." He added that the last thing the person will be saying will be "Gee, I wish there was more Adama/Kara scenes."

The panel ended with a preview for Razor, which offered fans some very cool footage of Lee Adama, Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) and others, including a woman saying "I am Cain's legacy!"